3 | S C R U T T O N B L A N D | L E I S U R E A N D H O S P I T A L I T Y
Covid news government support now winding down The next few months will see the various areas of government support for the hospitality and leisure industries being phased out. These measures have been vital for businesses over the last 18 months, helping them to stay afloat during the various lockdowns and reduced capacity imposed under Covid regulations. A summary of the deadlines is below:
FURLOUGH/Job Retention Scheme – the amounts that employers can claim back under the JRS scheme dropped from 80% to 70% for July 2021. This decreases further to 60% for August and September with businesses having to pay 20% to ensure that the employee still receives at least 80% of their gross wages. The furlough scheme will end on 30 September, with the deadline for submission of the final claim being 14 October 2021. It remains to be seen whether the Chancellor will succumb to pressure from the industry and introduce any further measures. VAT – the temporary reduction to 5% will end on 30 September to be replaced by a new rate from 1 October 2021 of 12.5%. This will be in place to 31 March 2022.
GRANTS – most of the Covid support grant scheme for businesses have now closed, but local councils have had access to funds under the Additional Restrictions Grant which may still be available. LOANS – as with the Covid support grants, the initial government loan schemes that were introduced at the start of lockdown have now closed. Under these schemes, borrowers were able to defer capital and interest payments, and if you have borrowed under these arrangements, there is an option to delay repayments for a further six months if needed. The Recovery Loan Scheme was introduced in April 2021 and is still open with the government backing 80% of the amount borrowed. It is designed to help businesses trade out of the pandemic. BUSINESS RATES RELIEF – full business rates relief finished on 30 June 2021 but a 67% discount is in place for some businesses (subject to a cap) through to 31 March 2022. SEISS – a fifth grant for self-employed individuals is available to be claimed until 30 September 2021 to cover profits from 1 May to 30 September. This differs from previous grants as there are various financial criteria to meet and amount received will be either 30% or 80% of average trading profits, depending on the profits the person has made over these months. The maximum claimable is £7,500.
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If you are planning to increase your prices from 30 September when the new VAT rate comes in, it may be worth marketing events such as Christmas parties now, so that your customers can pay before the end of September. You’ll improve your cash flow and your customers will pay a lower price for their celebrations!
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